Regular readers of our blog know we regularly include — among our series of blog posts about marketing — a blog post about walking, and since every day trip we, or most people take, involves quite a bit of walking (particularly if you like to check out parks and trails wherever you go, like we do), we thought it made great sense — and would make for some good fun — to document and share our adventures related to getting to know Rhode Island, which definitely included miles of walking!

My husband and I have often found day trips to be as fun, exciting, adventurous, and informative as a week or more away someplace. And, of course, it’s cheaper because you don’t have lodging expenses. Plus, if you have a pet, you don’t have to arrange for many days of care while you’re away, take steps to have your mail stopped, pack clothing and other necessities for a week, etc. You get the picture!

Sure, we may do an overnight trip at some point this summer or fall, but right now, we’re just enjoying chipping away at achieving our goal of getting to know the fellow New England state of Rhode Island better since we have quick, easy access to it from our home state of Massachusetts. We’ve already completed two day trips to areas either officially considered on the “Farm Coast” of RI or that allow you to enjoy the beauty of the country and water simultaneously. Hey, what’s not to love about the dual joys of experiencing being by the water at the same time as being in the country, right? There may not be as many places to shop or eat as there is on Martha’s Vineyard (a favorite place of ours for a day or an overnight trip), but being on Rhode Island’s Farm Coast gave me the same joyous feeling! For years, we’ve also always loved a day trip to the Town Farm in Westport Massachusetts, which some include when they reference “Farm Coast New England.”

Keep coming back to learn about our visits, as I’ll be documenting each one here. For now, I’m starting with the two that are already under our belts — Tiverton/Little Compton and North Kingstown/Jamestown areas, including Wickford Village.

Tiverton/Little Compton

A New England “Chronicle” segment on the above area ignited a desire to check this area out, particularly since they mentioned that in this area of Rhode Island, a mecca could be found for Francophiles in the properties owned by Groundswell in the “Four Corners” area of Tiverton. And, I consider myself one, having lived in France my senior year in college, plus graduating with a B.A. in French from UCONN. The cafe, home & garden, and table & provisions properties did not disappoint! We also enjoyed visiting the long-standing cheese store diagonally up the street a bit (there may have been some tasting of Triple Creme cheese and raspberry-lemon home-made cupcakes!) and checking out some of the other quaint shops in the area.

As with every usual day trip, eating and shopping was combined with visits to local bodies of water, wooded walking trails, parks, farms, museums, historic houses, and/or nature conservatories. We were in our glory spending time walking along the beach at Fogland Beach, as well as just admiring the beach and water’s beauty while plopped at a picnic table at the beach. We also checked out and admired other breath-taking nature along the way. And, then, ended our day with yummy seafood at a restaurant on the edge of Tiverton — officially in Portsmouth — with very friendly wait staff.

North Kingstown/Jamestown

My husband and I enjoyed another fabulous day trip from our home in Braintree (on Boston’s South Shore) to the beautiful Rhode Island locations listed in the header above.

In North Kingstown, we visited the very fun and festive area of Wickford Village. A fun fact — it’s a mecca for kayakers because of it’s Kayak Centre which provides a variety of kayaking equipment and gear, but also opportunities to take group kayaking classes and tours. In addition to the fabulous Kayak Centre, it makes sense Wickford Village would be a mecca for kayakers since, per the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, “Wickford Harbor is located in the Wickford section of North Kingstown in western Narragansett Bay, about two miles southwest of Quonset Point and 17 miles south of Providence. Wickford Harbor consists of an outer harbor and three small coves — Wickford Cove, Fishing Cove, and Mill Cove.”

We had fun watching kayakers enjoy their time on the water while we ate our delicious lunch on the back patio at Wickford On The Water. As eaters who enjoy fresh produce, we were thrilled this restaurant had so many healthy options to choose from for lunch/brunch. I highly recommend the Vegan bowl!

After our yummy brunch, we strolled Wickford Village’s main streets to check out old sea captains’ homes — they were just gorgeous, and this was one of my favorite parts of the visit because I love anything “old” or that has to do with history.

We left Wickford Village vowing to return for dinner (which we did, and had a delicious seafood meal at Tavern By The Sea) because in keeping with my above statement about my husband and I being history buffs, we are members of Historic New England and wanted to attend a special event at Watson Farm in Jamestown. We love a good property that offers the benefits of both being in the country/a farm, plus on the water. It was so nice just walking the fields/pastures at this property, seeing the cows, and most importantly watching kids fly kites — what’s not to love about kids laughing, smiling, and having fun in the great outdoors, right?

And, as an added, unplanned bonus to the day, we spent some time before returning to Wickford Village (after visiting Watson Farm) at the Beavertail Lighthouse Museum in Jamestown. Such gorgeous views in all directions (just don’t stand too close to the edge of the cliffs!), and I smiled at the fact that the porta-potties on the property looked like small individual cottages!

I definitely expect that we will return to Wickford Village, Beavertail Lighthouse Museum, and Watson Farm in 2025, if not before!

Pawtucket, Warwick, and Cranston

Check out the second in our series of blog posts related to our RI day trips to learn about our visit to the above three areas, plus other parts of the Ocean State!